By Jon Gambrell
Enquirer contributor

ROSS TWP. - Just inside the front door of the Burkharts' home is an aerial photo of their house, surrounded by green and brown fields.

But a glance out the window shows new homes of the Blackstone subdivision popping up all around their one-story ranch home, revealing how much has changed for them and rural Ross Township.

"I should have sold it off," Arthur Burkhart said. "I didn't even know (the subdivision) was going up until it was too late."

Subdivisions built so quickly they're dubbed "insta-subdivisions" have sprung up all over eastern Butler County in recent years, filling communities with residential housing faster than some townships could adjust.

With developers moving westward into Ross and Hanover townships, Butler County commissioners are changing zoning codes to that would increase regulation for developments in six townships and allow more township involvement in the decisions.

If proposed rules pass today, developers creating subdivisions with lots smaller than an acre would be required to obtain approval from the county's zoning board.

Currently, the county handles zoning issues in Ross, Milford, Lemon, Oxford, Hanover and Madison townships, while other townships have their own zoning boards. With the new rules, the six rural townships will both be notified and given the opportunity to participate in discussions of new developments.

Ross Township trustee Tom Willsey Jr. said that county zoning codes, in place since the '50s, were designed to stimulate growth in rural areas. However, as more developments were planned, zoning codes lagged behind the rapid growth.

"Once the door is open and the horse is out, it is a little too late to shut the door," he said. "We've got to get the horse.

"Zoning codes are to protect people already invested in an area, not the builders," Willsey said. "The largest investment of their life is put into their homes."

In Ross Township, several developments have recently sprung up, many on Black Road, where the Burkharts live. According to Willsey, nearly 600 homes will be built along that road alone, with potentially 1,200 more cars coming down the two-lane road each day.

Beyond roads, such large developments add strain to police and fire departments and other services. Ross Township is protected by a volunteer fire department and a police force of two full-time and six part-time police officers.

Also, as more homes bring more people into the township, Willsey said its quiet, rural identity could be lost as well.

"We've got people out in the country because they don't want to sit in traffic for 15 minutes like in West Chester Township," he said.

"We're not anti-growth," added Hanover Township Trustee Mike Mignery. "But we want environment, utility and school concerns brought to the table."

Mignery said officials want to include more green space in developments, as well as recreational facilities so Butler County townships don't become "sterile subdivision after subdivision."

"Someone told me once you have the three T's - tar, taps and toilets - the developments follow," he said.

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E-mail jgambrell@fuse.net